Kindly Bold

My mantra since high school has been "kindly bold." The phrase was first introduced to me through Colorado Young Leaders in honor of a friend and fellow member, Lauren Guthrie. She embodied what it meant to be kindly bold. Each year, her parents honored her legacy by awarding the Kindly Bold Scholarship to a graduating senior in CYL, and in my final year, I was incredibly honored to receive it.

Every morning at 9:00 a.m., my phone reminds me: "Do it for yourself — kindly bold." Over the years, I've come to discover what those words mean to me. And now, I get to carry them with me into the Peace Corps, fly to North Macedonia, and discover what they mean all over again.

Service, community, connection, and our shared humanity have always mattered deeply to me. It feels surreal to be stepping into an adventure filled with so much uncertainty. But I know I'm grounded in this mantra and this way of living: to lead with kindness while having the courage to be bold.

As I begin this next chapter, I hope I'm honoring Lauren's legacy, my incredible friends back home in Denver, my college people, all of my family, and, maybe most importantly, myself. I'm doing the damn thing. I'm scared, I'm excited, and I'm choosing to believe that I can do both.

I will be kindly bold.